Spreading the faith at area schools

By Abe Levy - Express-News :
June 13, 2010

Josh Bradshaw is 21, British and passionate about spreading his Christian faith in American public high schools.

He's here as a full-time missionary. Boerne high schools are his mission field.

A constant at sporting events and cafeteria lunches, he gives character-based talks in classrooms and counsels two Christian student groups.

Bradshaw is with the Pais Project, a global missionary agency founded in England now targeting U.S. high schools, including five in the San Antonio area since 2008. With the help of a North Side megachurch, 17 Pais missionaries — and eight more this fall — make up the group's San Antonio chapter, its largest and a prototype for expansion.

Upfront about its evangelical background, Pais promises administrators that missionaries won't proselytize on school grounds and will stick to volunteerism and mentoring on campuses.

“They talk about things with the kids that aren't part of our regular curriculum — things about morals and character,” said John P. Kelly, superintendent of the Boerne school district. “The campuses were more serene and peaceful after Pais had been there a while.”

Like Pais, other nondenominational Christian ministries operate on public school campuses. But Pais stands out for its emphasis on volunteerism, use of mostly college-age workers and strategy of connecting churches to public schools. Missionaries work in teams assigned to specific schools and in partnership with a local church or existing school ministry.

Pais, pronounced “pays,” is an ancient Greek word meaning “child or servant of the king,” and its motto is “missionaries making missionaries.”

The San Antonio chapter hopes eventually to have 250 Pais missionaries at every public high school in the area. Leaders acknowledge that the Christian faith already dominates the nation's religious landscape but they cite the low level of Christian devotion as motivating their work.

“My belief is that leadership is influence,” said Chris Cunnington, director of the San Antonio chapter. “Just by being a role model, you can influence someone's thoughts by the way you present yourself.”

How it's set up

Pais got its start in England 18 years ago with founder and director Paul Gibbs.

Gibbs was asked to speak at a school about his literal belief in Noah's ark for a class about “myths people believe.” It led to more guest roles and the formation of Pais to develop young leaders to do volunteer work at a school's direction as well as influence students to become on-site missionaries in schools

“We never went in thinking we want to gain access,” Gibbs said. “We go in believing we have mutual values. If people say no for a while, we find those who say yes and get involved.”Pais workers undergo background checks by the ministry and school districts. They are asked to raise $200 a month for auxiliary expenses. The organization provides them with free room, board, transportation and training in youth ministry. Missionaries are asked to mentor five students and fill out weekly progress reports.

About 200 missionaries serve in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ghana, Thailand, Poland and Canada. The other U.S. chapters are in Colorado and Florida as well as Longview and Arlington in Texas.

To bolster its local setup, Pais locked arms with Oak Hills Church, whose senior minister, Randy Frazee, worked with Pais when he was pastor of the nondenominational Pantego Bible Church in Arlington. Pais has its global and national headquarters in Arlington.

In San Antonio, Oak Hills and its members provide office space and housing. Pais workers conduct youth services and mentor teens at the church.

School rules

When Pais' work was described to Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, an advocate for the separation of church and state, she said the group seemed to adhere to constitutional law.

School districts can't favor one religious group over another and can restrict proselytizing on school grounds. So long as those policies are followed, adults from any faith are free to volunteer, she said.

“The bottom line is always whether any student is made to feel that their faith is in some way less praiseworthy and less honorable,” she said.Disputes can arise when adult volunteers are seen as too conversionary in their on-campus work, especially if they are from the majority Christian community.

Kelly, the Boerne schools chief, said a non-Christian group has yet to approach him for access to schools but he'd grant equal consideration.

“I need to know that a group is pretty clear on knowing where the lines are,” he said. “I feel like some people out there err on the side of prohibiting things they shouldn't prohibit.”

For Temple Beth-El Rabbi Barry Block volunteering in schools doesn't have to be tied to religion.

“There are a host of programs to the needy that do not have a religious component for the service recipient,” he said when asked about Pais' mission.

“The volunteers are fulfilling a religious obligation to God — not trying to get the recipients to say our prayers.”

At Lanier, Pais missionaries were hall chaperones and helpers for the cadet program. One was a chemistry aide. Challenged by high rates of teen pregnancy, truancy and dropout, Lanier administrators said the help was welcome.

Brandeis High School denied access on campus. Vice Principal Jerry Woods said Pais had no track record at any Northside ISD high school and the Pais representative he met with last year was “evasive” and “vague” about his intentions.

Pais leaders said they only do work at off-campus events for Brandeis.

“We don't teach our guys that we have the right to be in a school,” Gibbs said. “We say you earn the right to be in a school. It is a privilege.”

Pais' biggest presence is in Boerne, where Bradshaw leads three other missionaries, one who is also British and two who are German. All of them are under 24. They logged in 15 hours-plus a week on campus and helped with a student-led Bible study and another group that does service projects.

Students in those groups look to Pais missionaries for spiritual guidance and logistical help for volunteer projects on and off campus.

“It's like looking at an older version of what I might be,” said sophomore Marina Hogan, 15. “They help me realize what I can do at school.”

Bradshaw has taken Conor Steward, a freshman and member of Oak Hills Church, under his wing. They've shot skeet, planned a Super Bowl party and gone out for ice cream. They pray together most lunch periods in the school courtyard and meet at Oak Hills Church twice a week.

“Can you imagine a guy like Conor by the time he's a junior or senior?” Bradshaw said.To assist teachers and encounter more future leaders like Steward, Bradshaw and his team are regular guest speakers.

“We don't preach the Gospel, but these projects are an opportunity to show what Jesus would be doing,” said Bradshaw of his role.

Developing good traits

At a freshman business class once, Bradshaw churned a Big Mac, fries, shake and Dr Pepper in a blender and asked for volunteers to drink the grayish-brown concoction.

He then showed a clip from “Super Size Me,” the documentary about the health risks of fast food. The point: Decisions have consequences. And then he quoted Jesus without saying so.

“I read this wise quote the other day and thought you guys might want to hear it: The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

Bradshaw talked about his violent past when he used to play graphic video games and beat up his younger brother.

“I've managed to get my life back on track,” he said while passing out slips of paper for students to write down anonymous questions for him to answer. Earlier in the year, Bradshaw's story touched a nerve in a freshman who later admitted to Bradshaw that his older brother beats him up. Over lunch, Bradshaw counseled the boy to talk to his family and attend a church.

“He knew exactly what's going on,” said the boy, who asked not to be identified. “No one has ever known what it was like.”

The boy's teacher, Beth Manz, attends Oak Hills and said Pais has bonded with students to develop life skills.

“As a teacher I feel it is my calling to interlace character development with their education,” said Manz, “so they are longtime learners and well-adjusted citizens.”